Facebook-style website launched for Australian doctors

Written by Simon James on 16 January 2009.

An Australian medical practitioner has launched the country’s first social networking website for doctors.

Dr Stephen Barnett, a GP practising in Bowral, NSW, is the man behind the brand-new Multimedix site - www.multimedix.com.au – which operates in a similar fashion to online social networks such as Facebook.

Dr Barnett’s aim is to have doctors from across Australia join and use the site for both professional and social use.

The site will have three main uses: to allow doctors to search the database for friends, colleagues and contacts; let them discuss interesting cases or ask clinical questions in a secure forum-like setting; and to allow them to form special interest groups with like-minded colleagues.

Dr Barnett, who came up with the idea for Multimedix while trying to track down old university class mates for a reunion, said the site was modelled on similar sites from the USA and Canada, such as www.sermo.com and www.asklepios.ca.

“One of the biggest US databases has 80,000 doctors using it, which is a huge amount, so there is value in this as a network,” he said.

“There are probably 60,000-70,000 doctors in Australia and the more people that join, the more useful the site becomes.

“There are a whole bunch of possibilities.”

Dr Barnett said he was hoping 5,000-10,000 doctors will join the site in its first 18 months.

The site is free to doctors, who sign up for the service online by entering their medical registration details.